Perfect Pairing

John Adams's groundbreaking 1987 opera, Nixon in China, received its premiere at New York's Metropolitan Opera on February 2, with the composer making his Met debut on the podium and Peter Sellars making his Met directorial debut. To coincide with this momentous occasion, Nonesuch Records have reissued the Grammy-winning original cast recording in a newly redesigned and specially-priced three-CD set on February 1, featuring a 68-page booklet with the complete libretto and new notes by Adams and Sellars, along with the original liner notes by librettist Alice Goodman and by the late Michael Steinberg, which the Los Angeles Times described as "a revelation".

In the latest entry in his blog, Hell Mouth, John Adams recalls the 1987 studio sessions that produced the original cast recording. Listening back to the album in preparation for the upcoming Met performances, Adams says he "was bowled over by how superb the playing and singing is."